Pilot Iroshizuku Ink

[Penne Stilografiche]

I noticed that the price of Pilot Iroshizuku ink was quite higher than other ink brands. Is the ink's price justified compared to cheaper inks like diamine ink? Are there any special qualities of the ink that make it superior?

Thanks

 

[ravantra]

I really like Iroshi inks. Well behaved and great colors. I really don't care what they cost. I don't go through a bottle very quickly, maybe once every couple years for one bottle. If I only had and used one ink I would probably use up a bottle in 6-8 months.

[GabrielleDuVent]

I recently purchased a bottle for my father, and he likes it, but I just don't see the hype... especially when it's double the price outside Japan. The colours are beautiful, but they aren't "nearly 3 times J Herbin" beautiful to my eyes.

[Opooh]

I like these inks and their worth it, except Kiri-Same or autumn shower, which is a dull, depressive rendering grey.

[The Good Captain]

A friend recently brought me a bottle back from Tokyo where he visits on business quite regularly. I paid him what he paid for it - £10 GBP. Frankly, that's what it's worth to me.

[publishing guy]

No ... They're not really WORTH it. I mean they're not twice as good as anything else. But I really like them, and I have three bottles of my desk right now. In the whole scheme of things, ink just isn't that great an expense. And these are great looking bottles, after all.

[The Good Captain]

No ... They're not really WORTH it. I mean they're not twice as good as anything else. But I really like them, and I have three bottles of my desk right now. In the whole scheme of things, ink just isn't that great an expense. And these are great looking bottles, after all.

OK - I understand. Yes; great bottles. So are Akkerman but I think that they are worth the cost. However, I think that Diamine are really worth the cost!

[Lloyd]

They don't taste any better than any other quality ink.

[Penne Stilografiche]

They don't taste any better than any other quality ink.

[Penne Stilografiche]

Thanks for all the replies! I just bought 3 bottles of Diamine ink for Goulet pens (no affiliation) 2 nights ago and I noticed the Pilot inks and that they cost more than double the cost of Diamine for a bottle that contains less ink. Next time I'm buying from Goulets, maybe I'll give a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku a try.

[betsypreston]

It's worth it to get one of the bottles. They're gorgeous. But I've tried many of the inks and haven't noticed anything that I find that exciting. I prefer noodlers and diamine for their amazing colors, and their amazing breadth of selection, and better value.

[GabrielleDuVent]

It's worth it to get one of the bottles. They're gorgeous. But I've tried many of the inks and haven't noticed anything that I find that exciting. I prefer noodlers and diamine for their amazing colors, and their amazing breadth of selection, and better value.

 

 

Thanks for all the replies! I just bought 3 bottles of Diamine ink for Goulet pens (no affiliation) 2 nights ago and I noticed the Pilot inks and that they cost more than double the cost of Diamine for a bottle that contains less ink. Next time I'm buying from Goulets, maybe I'll give a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku a try.

 

Perhaps the best thing to do if the bottle is the objective, is to buy an empty bottle from Goulet's and fill it with whatever ink that strikes your fancy. I might order samples of the inks, but I definitely won't be getting the line...

[Plume145]

I really liked the purple I got to try as a Goulet ink sample. It's actually nicer than the other purples I've tried over the years - hmm, about 6 or 7 of them? Nice color. The blue is nice too, but it doesn't stand out the way the purple does, at least not to me.

 

As for the price: I used to think that was bordering on p!ss-taking But then I realized it's almost twice as much ink as the average bottle - 50ml vs 30 ml. That does change things a bit. Still, I would first try it as a sample, then get a second sample to make sure my first impression wasn't without merit, and only if I finished both and still wanted a refill would I consider buying the full bottle :-)

[Daisy25]

I love the color of tsuki-yo, for one. But that aside, the ink works beautifully. I have a TWSBI Mini that dries as I write to the point the pen stops writing. I have to move ink back down into the feed. When I have an Iroshizuku ink in the pen, that doesn't happen -- though I only have two of the inks at the moment, tsuki-yo and yama-guri. Not only does the pen keep writing, it writes more smoothly and cleanly and with better ink consistency.

 

Of course, I don't have much of an ink collection, so I really can't speak to a broad spectrum of other inks at all.

[CalvaryMaid]

If it's a color you really like, it's worth it. If you hate the color, then you've wasted $28-35. Always try a sample before you commit to a pricy ink.

[XiaoMG]

I agree with those who say samples are best. That way your appreciation for the ink can come largely from your direct experience of it, rather than a cognitive bias from a more significant investment.

 

I didn't have an easyoption of getting samples when starting out, and now have a bottle of Momiji and Yama-budo that I don't use and don't really like very much. Reviews are not the best indicator that you'll like an ink (the veneration of Tsuki-yo still baffles me), so grab some cheap samples and find out how much you like them.

 

If you can get them at Japanese prices, you won't have as much of an issue with expecting something incredible. Imagine if Noodler's Black was $30 for the normal 90ml bottle. That's the kind of markup Americans pay for Iroshizuku.

[Horseknitter]

What does 'worth it' mean? I understand that the price of anything is what the market will bear and that alone determines worth in a free market system. Of course, that value is subjective so that I pay for Iroshizuku and you don't. If enough don't pay the price drops or the availability disappears. Do I look for the best deal? Of course.

 

I have 6 different bottles of Iroshizuku (not counting the brand new bottle of Shin-kai I dropped and broke). They are six colors I love and do not find the exact replica in any other manufacturer's line. Granted we are talking about nuance here, but sometimes nuance is everything.

 

I began my exploration of the full line by buying samples of all the initial offering and those samples that followed which piqued my interest. After a trial period I bought the bottle...or not.

 

One thing in favor of Pilot Iroshizuku: I've never found a poorly performing ink. The ink glides onto the page often with delicate shading and dries fairly quickly. I can count on performance which is a plus not always available in the similar color of another line. YMMV.

[minibear453]

My solution is to beg friends whenever someone visits Japan. Although to be honest, $30 is not that much for the ink. I use around 1 mL every week, at most. That's $1 a week, or less than 15 cents a day for the ink. Is it worth it? I think so. I'll just skip a snack a week and save money, guilt, and my waistline. Sure, I'd save a lot more with Noodler's ink or something, but just think of how much gas you burn a day! Iroshizuku seems pretty dang cheap then huh?

[inkstainedruth]

After trying a sample, I'm finding that I like Yama-budo a lot -- it's a pretty color and the ink is well behaved. I'm not sure I like it more, than say, Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, which is a very similar color (although not *quite* the same).

Some of the other inks I'm more "meh" about. Winter Persimmon was also well-behaved, but the color didn't grab me (if you like orange, though, I'd recommend it). Asa-Gao didn't grab me at all, OTOH, and Kosumosu was fairly disappointing (and Private Reserve Rose Rage is almost the same color for a fraction of the price). Have a couple of other samples I haven't tried yet.

So overall, my vote was "both".

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited June 20, 2013 by inkstainedruth

[HDRoot]

No, it's not worth it. $30 for a bottle of ink to fill a pen that's a self-indulgent waste of money in the first place? Am I crazy? Well, actually...

 

Yes, it's worth every penny 'cause I like it. I ink therefore I am.